New York Coffee, Zamzama, DHA 5

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـانِ الرَّحِيمِ

Apologies to my readers and subscribers for the year-long hiatus in updating this blog. We had not stopped eating out, though, in case you were wondering. Its just that I got tired of waiting for photos to upload here on blogger. :)

In the meantime, though, I was actively uploading photos (and the occasional video) of my foodie experiences on instagram. 

New York Coffee has been around for quite some time now, located on Zamzama boulevard just opposite the prominent building of Pizza Hut. It is a stone's throw away from Bella Vita. 

The cafe is quite spacious and has an open-plan kind of design. 

The seating arrangement includes wooden chairs and soft couches, both. High chairs are available for babies.
That's not a window in the photo above; the walls are all adorned with life-size mural-like pictures of scenes in New York. 

The bar: where the beverage-concocting magic takes place at the hands of the baristas. 

Muffins, chocolate fondue, lava cakes, cheesecakes, chocolate chip cookies, and other delectable baked goodies are on display near the coffee and drinks bar.

The cafe has several savories on offer to go along with coffee and desserts. Prices on the menu are quoted exclusive of taxes.

I spotted their 9-inch, thin crust pizza ordered by diners on an adjoining table. 

Coffees and teas. I have only tried their cappuccino and it was very good! 

Sorry about the blurred shots of the menu. 

I've heard their lava cake called Molten Rock Chocolate is tops! Here is what it purportedly looks like.
I haven't tried it yet, though, much as I love lava cakes. 

They also have special tables for pairs and couples. 

Mix Berries Delight Waffles- Rs 425

This is our favorite item on the menu, for which we keep going back. Few places in Karachi serve fresh, hot waffles straight off the griddle, and New York Coffee is one of them. 

They also serve waffles with plain maple syrup or Nutella. However, their "multi-berry" waffles come with tinned (and frozen) strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, dollops of whipped cream, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, in addition to maple syrup. 

Enough calories for two people! Or, as in our case, 3 children. :)

Fried Eggs With Beef Bacon - Rs 460

We had to ask for more bread, but otherwise, this dish left no room for complains. The egg portion was massive! I can't eat three eggs like this, so we shared (we do that a lot). 

Vegetarian Crepe - Rs 395

This crepe arrives hot, with a sumptuous center filled with mushrooms, melted cheese, and black olives. The crepes are large and soft.

The style of folding the crepes changed on a subsequent visit. And where were the Heinz baked beans? Forget much? :P

Nutella Pancake - Rs 375

The pancakes have Nutella in the batter too. You can see chocolate spots dotting the core of the cooked pancake when you dig in and break them apart to eat. 

Ready to dig in: drizzled with maple syrup and dotted with butter.

One of the best pancakes I have had in K-town: hot, light and fluffy. Much better than the overrated ones I have ordered at Espresso, The Pantry, or Marigold and Honey Cafe.

I don't like how they serve the butter though. Lurpak butter sachets?! Really? 

For a picture of what their "multi-berry" pancakes and a cup of cappuccino looks like, check out this instagram shot that I took: 

Four Cheese Omelet - Rs 450

The omelet was huge and stuffed and topped with melted cheeses! The hash brown was crisp and hot.

They accommodate customers' choice of either bran or white bread with the egg dishes on offer. The portion size of the eggs was once again more than enough for two adults. 

I like my omelets nicely golden browned, so I shall probably pass this in the future, and just stick to fried eggs.

Besides the food, New York Coffee cafe sure knows how to whip up a great cup of coffee! I sprinkled brown sugar on the creamy froth atop my 'small' cappuccino (yes, they serve large-sized caffeine portions too) and stirred it for your viewing pleasure. 

***

Verdict: Portion sizes of the dishes are great. You should go really hungry, if you want to finish your main entree dish and sample some of the great desserts on the menu as well. 

As for the ambiance, it's all good, except for the loud music and cigarette smoke, both of which are a real turn-off when its crowded! Since the cafe is open-plan and allows customers to smoke, you can end up inhaling some of the toxic vapors whilst dining. And who enjoys that?! 

Also, if the table next to you becomes occupied with boisterous youngsters, you probably won't enjoy your meal due to the added louse noise and lack of privacy. So go at a down time. 

The staff is courteous, welcoming, and friendly. The coffee and desserts won't disappoint!

If you like coffee, lava cakes, pancakes, and waffles, this is the place for you to visit next time.

Espresso, Dolmen Mall, Clifton

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

We are all undoubtedly familiar with the local chain of cafe's called Espresso.
Recently, it opened one of its branches in - yawn - where else? Yes, Dolmen City Mall, in Clifton.

 
I admit I've been to Espresso only a few of times up till now, mostly with family or girlfriends, but only for coffee or desserts, never breakfast.

I've been told that "no one does breakfast like Espresso". Really?
So this year, we thought we'd give their breakfast a try, as soon as the current post-Eid shopping lull commenced.
This outlet of Espresso is located a bit deep inside the belly of Dolmen City Mall, i.e. going past Liberty Books on the ground floor (which is located at a tangent across Papparoti), then turning right and walking further down the corridor.

There are no scenic ocean views, sadly, but thankfully, what this branch of Espresso lacks in windows and aerial views, it makes up in the form of natural light coming in through the high skylight above.  

That is, there is nothing above this outlet of Espresso on all the 3 floors of the mall except the distant glass panes of the gigantic skylight.

We decided to visit it as soon as the mall opens on weekdays i.e. around 10 a.m., and as you can see, we were the first ones in. We walked in on a staff meeting, actually. ;)

Truth be told, we do not enjoy eating at noisy, crowded cafes, especially if smokers are present. Whenever I've walked past this outlet of Espresso during "peak" business hours, I found it noisily thronging with people.....and cigarette smoke! [*gag*]

We opted to sit on one of the raised kiosk-type booths visible on the left (which is not such a good idea with small children, as our son stumbled on the narrow step twice!)

Overall, I like the ambiance and 'open plan' interior decor of this branch of Espresso.
It is not at all like the cramped outlets on Zamzama (is it still there?) and The Forum, and much more spacious than the one on main Khayaban-e-Shahbaz. 

My children were mesmerized by the movement of these elevators that constantly went up and down.

FYI, these elevators are located just adjacent to Espresso, and as is obvious from the above photo, are visible from within the cafe, so if you are on the second floor of Dolmen Mall, you can enter these elevators from behind GunSmoke and come directly down here.
Very few mall visitors are hitherto aware of this route of movement.  

A shot of the skylight above. Can you spot a wiper?
Yes, a man was actually standing up there, wiping away the rainwater from the glass panes, much to my children's amazement!

Here is a shot of their main attraction: the coffee drinks menu.
Prices are exclusive of 16% G.S.T (government sales tax). 

I really liked their simply designed, no-frills menu. Very neat and easy to peruse at a glance. 
All breakfast dishes on the menu at Espresso will cut you back roughly Rs 400-500.

The main entrees. I haven't tried any of these yet. 

The desserts and drinks section.

Cheese and Mushroom Omelet - Rs 425 + tax

Cheese, Pepperoni and Onion Omelette - Rs 425 + tax

Waffles with Ice Cream and Maple Syrup - Rs 320 + tax
This vanilla ice cream was just awesome!

Pancakes with Maple Syrup- Rs 295 + tax
I took this photo after my daughter had drizzled some syrup over the fluffy pancakes. You can see the darker patches on them where it was absorbed almost immediately.
Fresh pancake goodness at its warm, gooey best!

A shot of the melted mozzarella cheese oozing out from the omelet. 
The omelets were hardly spiced, to our surprise. You can see from the yellowness of the egg that it has no spices at all!
The desi in me had to generously sprinkle back pepper on top. I guess I should have had the "Pakistani" omelet? :)

Similar shot of the omelet with pepperoni. Delectably laden with cheese, but again, no spices. 
The grilled tomatoes and hash browns incited zero complains.

However, we prefer our omelets browned well in oil until they are golden (instead of yellow). We also like our bran bread (there is a choice of white or bran at the time of ordering) toasted more, until it is very crunchy on the outside.

We also had to order two more toasts to down these massive omelets with, which came quickly at no extra charge.

Tea - Rs 120 + tax.
This had to be sent to be reheated mid-meal, which the staff obliged to do immediately.
It tasted very good sweetened with those cute little brown sugar cubes.

Verdict: We were quite a satisfied lot, alhamdulillah, but I definitely like the omelets at Butler's better. The waffles at Hobnob Cafe are better than the ones here too, in my opinion.

If you like your eggs fried and spiced very rarely, you will probably enjoy the breakfast at Espresso more than I did.

Perhaps one day I will come to Espresso again, to give their main entrees a try, insha'Allah. 

Until then, overpriced breakfasts like these will probably remain the once-in-a-while, occasional treat for us.

Bella Vita, Zamzama, Defence Phase 5

The Italian patisserie of sorts, Bella Vita, recently made its debut on 9th Commercial Lane, Zamzama. In Italian, Bella Vita means "good life".

It is located in the lane opposite Pizza Hut, a little on the back side.

I don't understand a single one of those words! Thankfully we have Google Translate. :)
The meanings of these 4 Italian words are: sweet dish (dessert), cup, drink, and ice cream.

Tons of woodwork accentuates the cosiness of the interior. Wood seems to be the raging interior decor trend nowadays.

The walls are embossed with the Bella Vita logo, and the lights are covered with the design of a city skyline.

 You can see that a lot of work has gone into decorating this Bella Vita outlet.

Paintings adorn the wooden walls inside.

The interior designer or owner seems to be a big fan of Vincent Van Gogh.

A small tray is erected in one corner from which customers can pick up straws, sachets of brown sugar, napkins, etc.

Like every other business on Zamzama, space is neither available, nor a plus point.
However, whatever space there is, has been furnished to maximize comfort, with wood furniture and comfy, high-backed couches.

The counter displaying all the gelato flavors is located right in front of the entrance, so that as soon as you step inside, a colorful array of sweet treats warmly welcomes you.

Notice the chandeliers? I like!

Coffee machine and other dessert-preparing paraphernalia behind the counter (photographed with the staff's permission).



Right next to the entrance also lies a kiosk offering customers a flick through glossy foreign magazines. Thankfully they are not cheap celebrity tabloids!
As always, I love indoor planted greens.

Hot Chocolate is available for Rs 190

Can't help agree with their logo, eh? 

As the name suggests, loads of sweet stuff is on offer here at Bella Vita.

Lots of sweet offerings, ranging in price from Rs 200 - Rs 400.

Hot and cold beverages. I tried my best, but the photo still came out
 blurry. You can make out the entrees if you peer hard enough, I guess. :)

The delectable-looking gelato spread.

There is something here even for the diabetics and weight-watchers - at an added price.

Chocolate-covered gelato bars too!

The gelato flavors are not plain, but blends of different ingredients and sauces.

Many more desserts are also available, viz. tarts, cakes, cookies, et al.

I think they caramelize the tops of the puddings in these little ramekins to convert them into hard-topped Crème Brûlées just before serving them.

Cinnamon Rolls - Rs 225 plus tax, each. You can request the staff to heat these up before serving them, which is what we did.

Regular Hazelnut Gelato - Rs 140 plus tax
This was an appetizing blend of chocolate and hazelnut flavors. Soft and light, and definitely less creamy than regular ice cream, you could feel the crunch of the sugary crystals as you took a bite.

Regular Tiramisu Gelato - Rs 140 plus tax
Light coffee flavored gelato that would definitely not jeopardize your night sleep. 

Bella Vita offer cakes too.
Every eatery does huge slices of sumptuous cakes nowadays, don't they? But who's complaining? :)
Red Velvet seems to be the in-demand ruler of the roost that seems to outclass every other cake on the menu!

The prices of cakes are the same as those at other similar eateries ~ Rs 2500 per 3 pounds.

Glazed Cinnamon Roll - Rs 225 plus tax

A warm, sticky toffee sauce was drizzled all around the sugary-glaze-topped, delectable cinnamon roll that was served dusted generously with fragrant cinnamon powder.
The kids tucked in, and every unwinding of the doughy twirl brought about satisfied sighs from us.

 Chocolate Lava Cake - Rs 350 plus tax
In the background: Mozzarella Sticks

The mozzarella cheese sticks were nothing to write home about; they were more than a bit on the dry and bland side.

However, the lava cake was just divine! It was very rich, because of the heavy melted chocolate that oozes out of its center, not to mention the blobs of cream that are generously drizzled on the plate along with it.

I made this video to show what a quintessential "molten lava cake" looks like when it is cut open (FYI: I own all copyrights to this video, so please do not share).

Verdict: Bella Vita seems to be here to stay. I think the gelato is quite affordable, if you remember that it is a very unique kind of ice cream with special ingredients.

That being said, since one can buy a filling plate of biryani or a succulent tikka with the same money that just a scoop of gelato at Bella Vita costs, we can admit that the sweet indulgences of Bella Vita are probably better for once-in-a-blue-moon treats on special occasions.

That is just my opinion though. :)